Page 6 of The Crime of Intensity

He, like many others in our MC, experienced firsthand what it’s like to find a woman who intrigues, challenges, and creates a havoc of chemistry inside the body. I’ve tried to ignore my body and mind when it comes to Kathleen. Yet, every damn time life finds a way to make our paths cross.

Then those agents went missing and the thought of Kathleen being at risk entered my brain and it made everything crystal fucking clear. Within a day I had everything set. Well, not everything. There’s one crucial part I still need to get done…which involves claiming the woman sitting next to me.

Easier said than done when she’s trying to get me out of her town as soon as she sees me. This time I came prepared and rooted myself in place. I’m going nowhere and she’ll realize soon enough that she’s mine. If only we could have a moment to communicate on a normal level since this woman brings out the best and worst in me all at the same time.

The first indication which made me realize she was damn special? I’ve never met a woman who instantly made a deeply rooted protective streak flare up inside me the second I laid eyes on her. I remember my first time in town all too vividly because of a gang we needed to take out.

A gang who liked to use women as punching bags and had a main business in dogfights. I stepped foot inside the Iron Hot Blood ranch to see Kathleen standing there, looking gorgeous as fuck, and Wrench glued to her leg.

The visual was like serving the perfect picture to the gang we were trying to bring down. I might have overreacted by going over her head to steer her away from danger, taking the case from her hands. But I needed to do it for my own sanity. We’ve been going head-to-head ever since.

“Where are we going?” I question.

Kathleen doesn’t take her eyes off the road when she states, “Body farm.”

My head whips her way. “You guys have a body farm?”

A smile tugs at her lips and she graces me with a glimpse of her stormy gray eyes. “Yes. A friend of mine is a forensic anthropologist and he’s the one we founded the research facility with about three years ago. He trains students, making the main purpose study material, but there’s also a law enforcement forensic science to exploit. My dad and I helped with the funding, which also allows us to be involved in some of the projects, conduct experiments, and gain valuable perspectives in the process.”

“How come I’ve never heard of this one? I know of a handful all over the states–”

She cuts me off when she says, “Private funding and it’s a very small one. We receive donated bodies for scientific research purposes from the hospital nearby. There are three cadavers on-site. Well, there should be. Elena just texted me that she found a fourth body on-site and no paperwork indicating a new experiment.”

“Body dump?” I question.

Her stormy gray eyes hit mine again as she parks in front of a small ranch. “Yes, a female body dump.”

Fuck. That’s too much of a coincidence with my suspicions of the serial killer returning to this town. Thank fuck I followed my instincts and moved here.

CHAPTER THREE

– KATHLEEN –

Elena is standing in front of the office, nervously wringing her hands. I walk toward her with Marvin falling in step beside me. It annoys the fuck out of me that he went over my head to give himself a job. Not just any job either; my second in command.

He could have taken my job and strangely enough, I find it irritating that he gracefully took a step back and even calls me boss lady. Then there’s the infuriating part of him being right. The first, second, and now the third time he shows up in my town predicting shit about a case.

I do have to admit, the case he’s working on hasn’t left my mind. It’s why I kept digging into it myself and the reason I handed the information I found over to Marvin. He might be an asshole, but he’s an asshole who is very good at his job.

That little fact is also the reason why I haven’t said anything about him becoming the undersheriff. It means I’m going home after my shift and won’t be working a double. Hell, he can work when I’m off, so I don’t have to see him; perfect solution all around when we’re short-staffed.

“No need to be nervous, Elena,” I gently tell the student who rotates shifts with her co-worker, Wendell.

She releases a deep sigh. “The body cross-contaminated the bloating experiment.”

“Which means we have multiple angles of the scene,” I muse. “Elena, would you be so kind as to show the body to the undersheriff? I’m going to check the feed real quick and will join you guys soon.”

I walk into the office and get behind the computer. A few keystrokes later I’m looking at a person, dressed in black with a hood over his head who is dumping the body. I forward the digital feed to myself and jog out of the office. Marvin is squatting next to the body and turns his head my way when he hears me approach.

“Anything?” Marvin rumbles.

“I’ve secured the feed. We’ll go through it when we’re done here. Have you called in your team to process the scene?”

He gives me a tight nod. “They should arrive within twenty minutes. Elena is waiting near the parking lot to guide them here.”

“It’s one of the agents,” I state. “Not the one who gave the interview, but her colleague.”

“Yes,” Marvin confirms.

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